Nursing bottle



Nov. 24, 1942. J; H. BoxL-EY, 2,302,935

i NURSING BOTTLE f -Filed April 4, 1942 o mm FL-13.12F FL 71T il 26 y. 22

cua/ruf ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 24, 1942 UNETED STATES @TENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention relates to nursing bottles, and particularly to those nursing bottles which are provided with an air venting hole through which air may be admitted to the 'bottle to reduce the vacuum produced by the removal of liquid by suction from the bottle at the nipple.

My invention has for its objects the production of a bottle which may be cheaply made and which shall be free from small openings and small fillets and angles which make proper sterilization difficult, and the production of easily sterilizable means for controlling the inflow of air to the bottle through the venting hole in the latter. A further object of my invention is to produce a vented nursing bottle with controlling closure so placed that the bottle may be held, when in use, by the nurse by one hand, while the controlling closure may be manipulated by digits of the same hand; leaving the other hand free for supporting the infant being nursed.

In the following description of my invention I shall for the sake of brevity refer to the elastic controlling closure as the cap.

In the drawing:

Figure I shows in elevation and part section a vented nursing bottle with cap in place;

Figure II shows in plan the top of the annular boss formed around the vent-hole in the bottle;

Figure III shows in vertical section the annular boss and the cap;

Figure IV shows in horizontal section, on line af-b in Figure III, a manner in which the cap may be manipulated;

Figure V shows in plan the top of the annular boss formed a little differently from that shown in Figure II;

Figure VI shows, in vertical section, the annular boss and the cap having an attached ring or tab;

Figure VII shows, in vertical section, the cap manipulated to admit outside air into the venthole through the annular boss.

In Figure I, the numeral I indicates the nursing bottle, laid upon its side. On the side of this bottle there is formed an annular boss 2 through which passes a large Vent-hole 4, large enough for the easy passage of cleaning brushes. The bottle is shown in approximately the same position in which it is held for nursing purposes. Obviously, as liquid is drawn from the bottle through the neck 6 by the nipple (not shown), a vacuum or partial vacuum will be formed beneath the boss 2 and vent-hole 4. This partial vacuum causes the outside air pressure to colll (l from the neck of the bottle, which, it is well known, leads to infant disorders and troubles. My rst object is to reduce this vacuum without introducing any unsanitary means.

The hollow boss 2 Vis closed by a rubber cap I0, around the open end of which is shown a reinforcing bead I2. This bead is not anessential feature of the cap I0, as the cap can be effectivelyused without a bead; but a head does undoubtedly strengthen its edge. This rubber cap I0 is made of thin elastic material, and is of such a size that it Will t upon the boss 2 tightly to prevent the leakage in of air, or the leakage out of liquid.""If the lower edge I4 of the cap III is pulled away from the surface of the boss 2 air will enter under that edge I4; but since the cap I0 fits the boss 2 closely air might not nd a free passage up the side of the boss, over its top, and into the vent-hole 4, and so into the bottle I. To form a certain passage for the air up the side of the boss 2 I form flutes, one or more, in the side of the boss, as at I6 in Figures I to VII. Note that in these figures, with the exception of Figure V, the flutes are shown depressed into the surface of the side of the boss, while in Figure V a flute is formed ,by erecting vertical beads I8 at intervals on the surface of the boss, the spaces between the vertical ribs forming the flutes I6. This appears to be merely a question of convenience to the bottle maker.

If the cap is of little depth compared to the length of the boss, it is possible that the top of the cap may be drawn down upon the open end of the boss, so closing the vent-hole 4, and checking the flow of air into the vent-hole. To prevent this checking of the airflow I provide depressions 20 across the annular end of the boss from the flutes to the Venthole. So, even though the cap be drawn down upon the end of the boss, air will flow up the flutes I6 and through the depressions 20 to the Vent-hole 4 when the bead I2 or the lower edge of the cap I4 is lifted from the face of the boss, or upon the said bead or edge being rolled up to uncover the ends of one or more flutes I6. This rolling up of the edge of the cap is a familiar operation to anyone who has used a common iingerstall.

The cap I0 is shown in Figure III in its closed position, forming a seal between the Vent-hole 4 and the outside air. In Figure IV is shown a simple Way of lifting the cap I0 from the surface of the boss 2 sufliciently to admit air to the ute I6, while the bottle is held in the same hand by the other ngers of that hand. It may be lapse the nipple and t0 impede the 110W 0f liquid 55 said that one ute on the side of the boss and one depression 20 on the end of the boss is sufcient to admit air to the Vent-hole 4 if the edge of the cap is lifted at that point to admit air to that flute and depression. I have shown a plurality of utes and depressions to indicate that they may be placed at any point on the boss 2 so that air will be admitted to the vent-hole if the bead or edge of the cap be lifted from the surface of the boss at any point in the circumference of the boss, all hands not being of the same size; but it is preferable that one flute be placed on the side of the boss adjacent the end of the bottle, as that side is more easily reached by the average hand.

In Figure VI I show the cap i@ provided with a tab-ring 22. A cap having a tab by which it may be stripped from the neck of a bottle is not new; but I show attached to the cap a ring 22 rather than a solid tab so that when the bottle is held by its base the palm of one hand, the nurse may lift the edge ci the cap from the surface of the boss as shown at 24 in Figure VII by inserting the end of a finger through the opening 25 in the ring E2 and then exerting a pull upon the ring 22.

In the drawing the boss 2 has been shown as circular in cross section. This section may be departed from to some extent, by making the boss elliptical in section, or even square in general form with rounded corners. The vent-hole through the boss is preferably axial with the axis of the boss, so that the wall around the venthole may be of uniform thickness and at the same time the vent-hole as large as practicable.

I have shown one method of raising the edge of the cap in Figure IV, and another in Figure VII. Other forms of cap may be used provided they can be manipulated to raise the edge of the cap to admit air to the bottle and provided they are so placed on the bottle that they may be manipulated by the fingers of the same hand whichholds the bottle, so that the other hand of the nurse is free to administer to other needs of the infant. This is an important feature of this invention.

Iclaim:

1. A nursing bottle having a boss formed on and extending from the outside of its lower portion and with a hole axially through the boss and through the wall of the bottle for the passage of air into the bottle and for cleaning and sterilizing operations; the said boss having a flute formed in its outside surface and extending from the hole through the boss to a point intermediate the length of the boss. the said ute being on the side of the boss adjacent the base of the bottle; in combination with elastic closing means adapted to cover the end of the boss and to embrace the boss at a point between the outer end of the flute and the body of the bottle to cut olf air communication between the outside air and the flute, and adapted to be lifted at its free edge from the surface of the boss to admit Aair to the flute and so to the inside of the bottle; the said boss and flute and closing means being sc spaced on the body of the bottle from its base that when the bottle is held by its base in the palm of the hand the closing means may be 0perated by digits of the same hand.

2. A nursing bottle having a boss formed in and extending from the outside of its lower portion and with a hole axially through the boss and through the wall of the bottle for the passage of air into the bottle and for cleaning and sterilizing operations; the said boss having a flute formed in its side surface and extending from the free end of the boss to a close at a point intermediate the ends of the boss; in combination with a exible cap adapted to cover the end of the boss, and having an elastic free edge adapted to embrace the boss at a point between the closed end of the flute and the body of the bottle to cut off air communication between the outside air and the flute, and also adapted to be lifted at its free edge from the surface of the boss' to admit air to the flute; the said cap having a ring formed at its free edge for engagement by a'nger of the hand holding the bottle to lift the free edge of the cap from the surface of the bossv to admit air by the flute to the bottle; the said boss and flute and capbeing so spaced on the -body of the bottle from its base that when the bottle is held by its base in the palm of the hand the cap 

